Chapter 31

（Great thanks to 'liu nian cheng shang love' for the 1888 reward! And also to 'Qi Guan Xuan Qi', 'Bing · Yue Ying', 'Jian Zhi Jiu Xiao Lin Cang Qiong', 'Er Ci Yuan Shi Wo Jia', 'Ai Kong Ye Ye De Gui Dao', 'Long Tian i', 'Ning Hun Luo Po', 'Xiong Ma Ah!', 'Di Ying', 'Yun Qi Qing Gu', and 'Sing Zai' for their rewards!）

（Currently, the new book is ranked fifth, about to surpass. I'm begging for support... [rolling on the ground]...）

At this moment, Noah had somewhat forgotten the reason for his arrival. He approached the bush where the little girl was hiding, squatted down, and gently parted the grass in front of him.

In the next moment, the figure of a blue-haired little girl, hugging her knees and curled up into a ball, appeared before Noah, her face filled with terror.

“——！”

Seeing Noah's face suddenly appear before her, the blue-haired little girl crawled backward in terror, her face full of fear.

“I won’t hurt you. I’m not a beast or a monster, and I have no ill intentions towards you.” Noah tried to soften his tone, a gentle smile on his face as he extended his hand to the blue-haired little girl.

“Come, come over here.”

Looking at the gentle smile on the face before her, the blue-haired little girl's fear inexplicably diminished by a large margin, her pale face regaining some color. However, she still stared at Noah's outstretched hand with a somewhat fearful expression, her small body trembling slightly.

Noah did not rush her, but maintained his extended hand and smile, waiting for the blue-haired little girl to react, showing no sign of impatience as time gradually passed.

The blue-haired little girl secretly observed Noah, seemingly concluding that he would not harm her. She timidly extended her small hand, trembling as she placed it on Noah's outstretched hand.

At the moment of contact, both Noah and the blue-haired little girl experienced different sensations.

Noah felt the small hand in his palm was extremely cold, as if it had lost all the warmth a human body should have, which surprised him greatly.

The blue-haired little girl, on the other hand, felt the hand that enveloped hers was incredibly warm, warm enough to make her feel a sense of attachment.

Thus, the blue-haired little girl's hand tightened involuntarily, gripping Noah's hand as if it were a lifeline.

Under the night sky, in the forest, a young and an older child, despite their age difference, held hands tightly, forming an unseen and hard-to-break bond.

……

In the depths of the night, in a quiet corner of the forest, a wisp of smoke rose into the sky, carried by the wind to an unknown distance.

The red flames of the campfire emitted light and warmth that dispelled the darkness and chill, and the wild game roasting beside the fire gave off a mouth-watering aroma.

Beside the campfire, the blue-haired little girl sat, devouring the freshly roasted wild game, her small cheeks puffing up cutely as she chewed, a sight that was incredibly adorable.

Clearly, the blue-haired little girl had not had a proper meal for a long time.

Noah, having come to this conclusion, allowed her to continue eating in a ravenous yet endearing manner, sitting quietly on the side, roasting the rest of the wild game he had just hunted while observing the blue-haired little girl.

The blue-haired little girl's name was Wendy Marvell.

This was something Noah had just learned.

No one would think that such a child could be a ghost.

Noah felt the same way.

So, watching Wendy eat heartily, Noah was happy to continue observing her, but he still could not detect any signs that she was a ghost.

Unconsciously, time passed quietly.

Although it was clear that she had not had a proper meal for some time, Wendy was just a child, and a girl at that, so her appetite was not that large. After finishing the not-so-big piece of wild game in her hand, she seemed to be full.

Holding her small hands, Wendy secretly observed Noah, and after a long time, she mustered the courage to speak in a voice as soft as a mosquito's.

“T... Thank you...”

“Are you full?” Noah shook his head, waving the wild game he was roasting.

“Do you want some more?”

“N... No, thank you...”

Noah shrugged indifferently, placing the wild game beside the campfire, then looked at Wendy.

“So, Wendy, can I call you that?”

“Y... Yes!” Wendy nodded, then nodded again firmly.

“Can I call you Noah-nii?”

“If you don’t mind.” Noah scratched his cheek, asking.

“So, Wendy, why are you here? And why were you crying so sadly?”

“I... I live here.” Wendy's small face showed a sad expression, her watery eyes beginning to moisten.

“I... I can’t find my mom, I can’t find Grandine.”

“Can’t find your mom?” Noah sighed.

“So, you’re lost, right?”

“No.” Wendy shook her head, saying.

“I remember the way home, but there’s no Grandine there anymore. Grandine suddenly disappeared and doesn’t want me anymore.”

As she spoke, Wendy's eyes became misty, tears streaming down her face, and she began to sob.

Even though Noah was usually good at controlling his emotions, he had never encountered a situation where a girl was crying, and he was momentarily at a loss. He could only sit beside Wendy, patting her back, and try to comfort her like a child.

“Wendy, don’t cry. Tell me what your mom looks like, and I’ll help you find her, okay?”

However, in the next moment, Wendy, with a sobbing voice, said something that shocked Noah.

“Grandine is a dragon, a very gentle, very gentle dragon!”

Dragon!

Noah, of course, knew about such beings!

Wendy's mom is a dragon?

Doesn’t that mean she was raised by a dragon, just like Natsu?

“You...” At that moment, Noah looked at Wendy in great surprise.

“Are you also a Dragon Slayer?”

“Also?” This time, it was Wendy's turn to look at Noah with a tear-streaked face, making Noah realize.

The little girl, who was about four or five years younger than him, was very likely the second Dragon Slayer besides Natsu, and she might also have learned the ancient lost magic used to fight dragons—Dragon Slayer Magic!

When did such powerful magic become so common?

Before he could fully process this thought, a sudden phenomenon interrupted Noah's thoughts.

“Rumble——!”

In the sky, a deafening thunderclap suddenly echoed.

“Ah——!”

The timid Wendy let out a scream and without hesitation, threw herself into Noah's arms.

Noah instinctively embraced the slender, soft body that had thrown itself into his arms, looked up, and his pupils shrank to pinpoints.

“Rumble——!”

Amidst the thunderous roar, the dark clouds in the sky began to swirl, as if there was a vortex in the center, continuously drawing in the surrounding clouds and gradually rotating.

Gradually, the entire sky over the forest was replaced by a massive black cloud vortex, the center of which emitted a faint light and produced a startling rumble.

The scene looked as if a hole had been torn in the sky!

“A hole in the sky?” Noah, tightly hugging Wendy, stared at the vortex in the sky with a troubled expression.

“Could this be the cursed phenomenon the village chief mentioned, summoned by the ghost’s cries?”

Thinking of this, Noah looked at Wendy, who was trembling with fear in his arms.

It seemed that Wendy did not know what this phenomenon was.

Moreover, at first, Wendy was also crying, but no such phenomenon had been summoned then.

So, this phenomenon was definitely not caused by Wendy, at least not intentionally.

At this moment, the phenomenon in the sky changed again.